MS08-057: Description of the security update for Excel 2007: October 14, 2008

Microsoft has released security bulletin MS08-057. To view the complete security bulletin, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

• Home users:
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/updates/bulletins/200810.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/updates/bulletins/200810.mspx)
  Skip the details: Download the updates for your home computer or laptop from the Microsoft Update Web site now:
  http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate (http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/)
• IT professionals:
  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-057.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-057.mspx)

How to obtain help and support for this security update

For home users, no-charge support is available by calling 1-866-PCSAFETY in the United States and Canada or by contacting your local Microsoft subsidiary. For more information about how to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary for support issues with security updates, visit the Microsoft International Support Web site: North American customers can also obtain instant access to unlimited no-charge e-mail support or to unlimited individual chat support by visiting the following Microsoft Web site: For enterprise customers, support for security updates is available through your usual support contacts.

More information about this security update

Known issues with this security update

• Symptoms
  After you install this update, when you copy data from Excel and try to paste it into Access, you encounter an error message:
  The data on the Clipboard is damaged, so Microsoft Office Access can't paste it. There may be an error in the Clipboard, or there may not be enough free memory. Try the operation again.
• Workaround
  To work around this problem, use either of the following methods:
  • Paste the data into a text file by using a program such as Notepad. Then copy the data from the text file, and then paste the data into Excel.
  • Import the data from Access. For example, you can use a procedure that resembles the following:
    1. Click the cell where you want to put the data from the Access database.
    2. On the Data tab, in the Get External Data group, click From Access.
    3. In the Look in list, locate and double-click the Access database that you want to import.
    4. In the Select Table dialog box, click the table or query that you want to import, and then click OK.
    5. In the Import Data dialog box, do the following:
       • Under Select how you want to view this data, do one of the following:
         • To view the data as a table, select Table.
         • To view the data as a PivotTable report, select PivotTable report.
         • To view the data as a PivotChart and PivotTable report, select PivotChart and PivotTable report.
       • Optionally, click Properties to set refresh, formatting, and layout options for the imported data, and then click OK.
       • Under Where do you want to put the data? do one of the following:
         • To return the data to the location that you selected, click Existing worksheet.
         • To return the data to the upper-left corner of the new worksheet, click New worksheet.
    6. Click OK. Excel puts the external data range in the location that you specify.
    For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web page:
    http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA100963001033.aspx#Connect%20to%20Access%20data%20from%20Excel (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA100963001033.aspx#Connect%20to%20Access%20data%20from%20Excel)
• Status
  Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available.

Non-security-related fixes that are included in this security update

This security update fixes the following issues:

• 954572  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954572/ ) Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package: June 23, 2008
• 954893  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954893/ ) Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package: June 26, 2008
• 954894  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954894/ ) Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package: July 1, 2008
• 955590  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955590/ ) Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package: July 21, 2008
• 955591  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955591/ ) Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package: July 21, 2008

Update replacement information

This security update replaces the following security update:

File information

The English (United States) version of this security update has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.